A-Bomb 'Guinea Pigs'

There is no question that the government played fast and loose with the health of its citizens when it conducted in-air tests of atomic weapons over the Nevada desert in the 1950's. I was one of several correspondents who, in 1952, witnessed one of the first tests at Yucca Flats.

Soldiers in full battle gear served as guinea pigs to test ability to function under a cloud of nuclear dust. No protective gear was provided to them, or to the civilian observers. We were, Atomic Energy Commission officials assured us, perfectly safe.

We were eight miles from ground zero when the blast went off, creating an enormous, fast-moving cloud over all involved, eventually spreading out to cover much of the West. Small wonder people are paying the price in deadly ailments.

Indeed, I was fortunate in having an excellent dermatologist who caught a potentially fatal melanoma on my arm years ago. I have always assumed it was an unwelcome memento of that day in the desert more than half a century ago.